The DCU’s First Movie Ignored A Perfect Batman Reference Set Up 6 Years Ago

The DCU’s first movie, Blue Beetle, missed the perfect opportunity to reference the Batman franchise. While still being included under the umbrella of the DCEU, James Gunn’s confirmation that Jaime Reyes is the first official character in the filmmaker’s rebooted universe unofficially makes Blue Beetle integral to the DCU’s future. As the linchpin between the two franchises, Blue Beetle naturally makes several references to the wider world of superheroes.

By the time of Blue Beetle‘s cliffhanger ending, it is clear that the film includes set up for a sequel that could be picked up by Gunn and his DC compatriot Peter Safran in the future. If this were the case, Blue Beetle‘s wider DC Easter eggs could link to either the past DCEU or its rebooted counterpart, just as the movie itself could. That said, despite the plethora of references found throughout the film, Blue Beetle somehow missed the most obvious way to tie into the world of Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Gotham’s Dark Knight.

Blue Beetle’s Easiest Batman Reference Was Missed Out On

One of the prevalent aspects of Blue Beetle‘s third act was the Bug Ship, the method of transportation used by the prior iteration of Blue Beetle before Jaime, Ted Kord. In the film, the Bug Ship is used by Jaime and his family to stop Victoria Kord’s villainous plan. Despite the ship playing such an integral role in the film’s plot, Blue Beetle misses the fact that the Bug Ship looks very similar to Batman’s Knightcrawler from the DCEU’s past.

This connection would have been one of the easiest ways for Blue Beetle to reference Batman for a number of reasons. For one, it would make sense for Batman to have been somewhat inspired by Ted Kord who was active for decades in the DCEU before Jaime. Bruce could have made his ship similar to that of Ted’s, explaining the similarities between the two. Also, it would have been logical for Jaime to make the connection as he will be familiar with the Knightcrawler from his time in Gotham, the city in which he graduated from university.

Why Blue Beetle’s Missing Batman Reference Makes Sense

All that said, the obvious nature of the connection between the Bug Ship and the Knightcrawler does not change the fact that it makes sense for Blue Beetle not to reference this. Throughout the entire film, Blue Beetle‘s Easter eggs are seemingly intentionally vague. It is never clear which version of the various live-action versions of Batman, Superman, Gotham, or Metropolis are being referenced. Given Gunn’s commitment to labeling Jaime Reyes as a DCU hero, this was likely intentional so as to not firmly corner Blue Beetle into either the DCEU or DCU. This vagueness gives Gunn freedom going forward, as the film could retroactively be placed in either continuity.

However, this freedom of choosing where Blue Beetle fits in DC’s confusing timeline would have been negated had the Knightcrawler been referenced. The Batman vehicle is very clearly part of the DCEU, appearing in films like Justice League and Zack Snyder’s Justice League. If any of Blue Beetle‘s characters had made a comment on how similar the Bug Ship looks to Batman’s Knightcrawler, the film would have been tied unquestionably to the DCEU and given James Gunn a much more difficult time concerning the transition of Blue Beetle into a retconned DCU property.